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Author's note: ok sorry sorry sorry. Long time not write … er … update. There is a huge lack of response so I'm feelin kinda dejected here…. I feel like my writing is rilly boring so no one bothers to read it… and there aren't any reviews. Please, please, please, I beg you to read and review. Just one review and I'll be happy!

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Of Thoughts and Flashbacks

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"Ichi-nii, I'm staying at Inoue-san's home for tonight. Please tell your father for me. Ichi-nii? Hey Ichi-nii, answer me. Ichigo!" Michiko bent down, waving her hand in front of his face and peering up at him.

Another day at Karakura high had passed and Michiko stood at her brother's desk, looking at his bowed head.

"Hey! Is something wrong? You're zoning out for no reason today." Her forehead creased slightly in a frown. Ichigo gave a start.

"Huh? No its nothing. I'll tell pops for you." He said slowly before turning and walking away with his schoolbag on his back.

Weird. What's with him? He's been acting really weird since this morning. Did something happen?

"Shirakawa-san! Are you coming? Tatsuki-chan says that she will come after karate practice!" Inoue Orihime's bright cheery voice rang in her ears. Michiko sighed slightly before turning her back to her brother and walking towards the girl.

'Tsukihana, you there?' she called out in her mind

'I am always here, what matters is your will to find me.' Her voice, as melodious as ever, echoed in her ears.

'Cut it out, Tsukihana, you sound cheesier than anyone else I know' She muttered.

'By 'anyone you know', do you include yourself?' Tinkling laughter rang through her head. Silence met this statement and after a while, Tsukihana spoke again.

'Was there something you needed, Michiko-sama?' A few moments of silence between the two passed and Michiko was suddenly aware of Orihime's voice, chirply describing the many dishes she had prepared for that night's dinner.

'It was nothing, Tsukihana, you've been very quiet today too.'

'I merely thought that instead of conversing with me, you should actually pay attention to your lessons.' Obvious mirth was hidden in her voice, and Michiko allowed a small smirk to appear on her face.

'Touché.'

Michiko sat with her feet tucked neatly underneath her at the small table in Inoue Orihime's house, Arisawa Tatsuki sitting to her left and Inoue Orihime to her right. They were eating one of Orihime's well known recipes, 'red bean ice-cream with cheese and nuts sprinkled on the top.

Tatsuki was still trying to finish the whole bowl without being violently ill all over the creator of this dish and Orihime was still holding a spoon and smiling widely, ice-cream staining the corner of her mouth, apparently still enjoying her meal.

Michiko herself had long finished her food. As polite as she was, she merely ate quickly, spooning the sweet and salty concoction into her mouth without the barest hint of emotion except for biting the inside of her cheek to avoid blanching at the strange taste. She had, afterwards, complimented on Orihime's cooking, but declined the offer to eat a second bowl.

"After this, I still have my special drinks! Onion with red beans mixed in sprite! We should eat drink some!" Orihime's cheerful voice rang out. Michiko raised an eyebrow and Tatsuki immediately interrupted.

"Oh! I almost forgot! My mom told me to bring to beef and corn soup!"

"Yay! Tatsuki-chan's mom's corn and beef soup is always the best!"

"I'm glad you like it. Without us, you always eat weird stuff."

"You say that every time you come here Tatsuki-chan! And it isn't weird! It's good!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Tatsuki patted Orihime's head.

Watching the two friends going at it, Michiko nearly, NEARLY, let out a sigh. As with all others, she was as quiet and withdrawn with these two. Even when she had met these two, she was already numb to emotion and because of her attitude, she had never made any real friends.

Arisawa Tatsuki was different. They were first introduced to each other through Ichigo who hoped that she would find a friend in the tomboy. Despite her cold responses, Tatsuki continued to attempt playing with her and slowly her barrier lowered around this girl.

Inoue Orihime's innocent and ditsy character was just the same as Arisawa's, just as friendly and definitely just as stubborn when she had to be.

One could not say that Michiko was close friends with these two, but their relationship had progressed to something that Michiko might call 'friendship' and to her, it was a good way to avoid getting too attached to the Kurosakis, although in Tsukihana's opinion, no matter how much Michiko wanted to deny the fact, Shirakawa Michiko considered the Kurosakis as her second family and as life in the Kurosaki household was sometimes rather… 'lively', thanks to Kurosaki Isshin's childish antics, Michiko preferred to spend a few days a week at Inoue Orihime's home.

"Hey, Michiko, something wrong? You're kind of quiet today." Tatsuki's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Ano, Shirakawa-san is always quiet." Orihime chirpily mused thoughtfully.

"No, it's not that. Normally it's more like a cold and uncaring type of quiet, right now she's being the shy, girlish type of quiet." Tatsuki bent forward slightly, peering at her face.

She did not just say that I was a shy and quiet girl…She most definitely did NOT!

Michiko had to tighten her fists in her lap under the table to avoid having a vein pop in her forehead. She wanted to sigh, but she held it back also.

"I am going to take a bath. There is no need to wait for me to begin studying." She spoke distinctively, her voice slightly colder than before, rolling the words around in her mouth before slowly pushing them out.

Inoue looked startled and kind of nervous and Tatsuki rolled her eyes.

"Ano, Shirakawa-san seems angry today." Orihime spoke sheepishly as Michiko left the dining room.

"Michiko's like that every single day." Tatsuki replied, lying down on the floor, arms supporting her head.

"She's like Kurosaki-kun in some ways."

"Oh? How so?" Tatsuki answered, not really caring.

"She just seems sad sometimes, but in a different way that Kurosaki-kun." Orihime said, looking out of the window in her apartment. To this, Tatsuki bit her lip. She had no reply.

"Tatsuki-chan, do you feel like although we've known Shirakawa-san for such a long time, it's as if we barely know her at all? We don't even know anything about her." Orihime turned to her friend.

"Tatsuki-chan, you know something do you? About Shirakawa-san… I can tell you know, but Shirakawa-san doesn't seem to like people talking about her…" Tatsuki sighed, straightening her legs.

"I don't really know a lot either. Ichigo told me a little bit about her when I first met her, so I could understand her attitude a little bit more, but even after she accepted me as a friend, she always ended the conversation when it moved towards her family and history." Orihime, turned back to face Tatsuki, interested in what her friend had to say.

"It was when she was five years old. Ichigo said that a man wearing sandals with a cane, fan and a striped hat had shown up with her at the Kurosaki clinic. She lived with them since then. Apparently her whole family was murdered and her half-year-old sister had disappeared without a trace."

Tatsuki paused, as if in deep thought, unsure of what to say next.

"Everyone knows about the Shirakawa Corps. The Shirakawa family was famous. They were rumored to have been descendants from an ancient noble line, so Michiko has always been cold and withdrawn, but Ichigo says that before her parents died, his father knew her parents distantly. He said that she was a child of smiles, although with the same grace in speech as today, was more than willing to make friends."

The two were silent. Water was heard running in the bathroom.

"They way of her parents' death was horrifying. They and the rest of the household were murdered. They were killed with knives, every single one of them, even a few servants. It must have been horrible for her to see. Even stranger was the way the murder case was treated. A few days later, it was as if, the whole murder case was already solved and closed, the police just forgot about it, and it seems that she knows why, that is why she won't talk about it."

"Even stranger is that no one questioned about the case, everyone just… ignored it…"

Orihime nearly dared not to breathe. She was staring, wide-eyed at her friend who was now also in a sitting position, head in her hands a sad expression on her face.

"When I first saw her, even with her cold, distant and aloof expression, there was something sad about her. I pitied her. That is why, that is why I tried so hard to be her friend, so as to make her life even a small bit happier, with a little bit more color. She sees things in black and white, has done so ever since her family's death, perhaps even before. The Shirakawa family really must be ancient nobles…To push her so, to make it so that she is so withdrawn, so cold. How cruel..."

The two friends sat in silence for the rest of the night, each having their own thoughts about their classmate.

Michiko finally allowed herself to let a sigh of slight irritation as she stepped into the bathroom, hung up her clothes and started to fill the bath. Turning away from the rapidly filling bath, she began to strip herself, only to freeze as she saw her reflection in the mirror.

So this is what I look like, when I let myself relax, let myself take of the mask, the façade of coldness. I look so… sad …so pathetic…

Knee length long black and thick hair, slim face, a high set nose and a pair of round… eyes. She couldn't tell what color they were. She hadn't been able to for years. She could only remember a time long ago when her eyes for large, round, blue and silver, bright with happiness and life and full of curiosity.

She took an involuntary step towards the mirror. The girl in the mirror took a step towards her too. They looked at each other and each lifted a hand, pressing their hands together.

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*flashback*

"Michiko-sama! Michiko-sama! Please come back! You need to take your bath!" A few maids ran after her as she fled down the hallway, dodging the other servants who were sweeping the floor, she ran towards the grand staircase - her freedom.

Almost there! Almost there! Who likes to get all wet, slick and soapy – WHAM!

Michiko crashed into something, or rather, someone who caught her before she fell. Michiko scowled slightly before looking up to yell at whoever bumped into her, but her face immediately brightened as she saw who it was.

"Shuuhei- nii-chan! Did you come to visit me?"

"Michiko-sama, have you been giving the maids trouble again?" Hisagi Shuuhei's voice was amused, but slightly reprimanding.

Despite her learning in manners, Michiko allowed herself to pout and frown.

"I hate baths!" Her arms crossed defiantly. Shuuhei chuckled.

"But you need baths, without them, you'd been dirty and grimy and no boys would like you. Besides, if you take baths, you'll be prettier and your beautiful blue-silver eyes would be brighter."

"Really?" Shuuhei chuckled, glad that she was easily appeased and tapped her lightly on the nose.

"Really. Now go and take your bath."

"Will Shuuhei-nii-chan wait for me?" Her bright silver-blue eyes looked hopefully up at him.

"Of course, Michiko-sama, today is my visiting day."

With a bright smile, Michiko ran back into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Shuuhei winced, she was truly too enthusiastic sometimes.

*end flashback*

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Michiko frowned and pulled her hand back from the mirror. Sighing, she shook her head and turned, lowering her body into the hot bath that she had drawn for herself. She'd been reminiscing about the past too much these days.

It was lunchtime already and Ichigo had not come to school yet. Having spent the whole night at Inoue's house, Michiko had no idea what happened. She was far from worried, however. Strange things always happened in the Kurosaki household.

Stepping into the classroom, she immediately froze. What… what was this… power? It was big and slightly suffocating.

Worried, she let her eyes sweep over the students into the classroom, trying to find the source of that unearthly power.

Ichigo! It's you! It's you, isn't it? Why? How? Why did you so suddenly…

"Hey Ichigo, I heard that a truck crashed into your house! Is it true?" Ichigo's every-annoying (and perverted) friend Asano Keigo bombarded him with questions.

"Yeah. I had to stay and help clean up. That's why I couldn't come until now."

A TRUCK? A truck crashed into the house. A truck crashed into the house. A TRUCK crashed into the house.

As hard as she tried to believe that, it was impossible. Just like yesterday, Ichigo was still as different as ever. There was apparently a lot on his mind.

Ichi-nii, just what is it? What is bothering you? Why aren't you talking to me? Why won't you tell me about your problems like you used to? I want to know.

Troubled, she turned to leave for lunch with the girls, not even noticing the presence of a short, raven-haired girl's entrance.

"Attention, class!" Ochi-sensei's loud voice rang out, silencing the chatter of the students.

"For the next few months, there will be a new exchange student joining our class. Please treat her well. Exchange student, please come in."

A short girl dressed in the school uniform opened the door. She looked up and the first thing Michiko noticed were her violet eyes. Raven-colored hair grew slightly past her shoulders flaying outwards slightly at the ends. A long bang fell in front of her face. She gave everyone a sweet smile.

"Hajimemashita. Watashi wa Kuchiki Rukia desu. Doujyo Yoroshiku." She smiled sweetly again before heading to her seat, passing Michiko on the way.

What!? It can't be! THE Kuchiki Rukia? Why is she here!?

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Author's note: Oooooh! A cliffie! Who's Kuchiki Rukia and what is she to our Shirakawa Michiko? Read to find out!

Japanese lesson:

Hajimemashite – pleased to meet you (actually it actually means something like 'this is our first time meeting each other, how do you do' – something like that )

Watashi wa Kuchiki Rukia desu – my name is Kuchiki Rukia

Doujyo Yoroshiku – ok this is like a Chinese/Japanese/Korean etc. saying. (I'm Chinese so I knoe…) basically its manners like when you first meet someone. The meaning is something like 'If I have areas that need improvement (manners, attitude etc.) please correct me'.

Ok! That's it! Look forward to the next chapter!

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